So Many Blogs, So Little Time
By Mike Bergin.
If you’re interested in the best that the burgeoning bird blogosphere has to offer, look no further than I and the Bird ( 10000birds.com/iandthebird.htm). I and the Bird is a blog carnival celebrating human and avian interaction, an ongoing exploration of the endless fascination with birdlife all around the world. Basically, it’s a biweekly presentation of the best birding blog writing on the web, selected and submitted by the authors. Nearly 150 different sites have contributed to I and the Bird over the past year. Here are some examples of the best.
To see a longer listing of birding blogs, also visit fatbirder.com.
- Charlie Moores is living the world birder’s dream, traveling to all ends of the Earth and spotting incredible avifauna at every stop. Charlie’s Bird Blog is one of my hands-down favorite bird blogs. Once you’ve gotten a taste of Charlie’s spectacular writing and photographs, it will probably be one of your favorites as well. Visit Charlie's Bird Blog here >>
- A veteran naturalist by the name of Duncan presents the amazing birds, plants, insects, reptiles, and mammals of Gippsland, Australia, on Ben Cruachan Blog. Duncan’s easygoing accounts and images of Australian avifauna really are the next best thing to being there. Visit the Ben Cruachan Blog here >>
- Bootstrap Analysis delivers the daily chronicles and musings of an urban field ecologist. The author of this blog, who goes by the nom de plume Nuthatch, doesn’t always restrict her commentary to natural history, but she always informs, entertains, and inspires. Visit the Bootstrap Analysis Blog here >>
- The House & other Arctic musings offers rare insight into life in Canada’s North Circumpolar Region. Read Clare Kines’ musings on the qarsauq (red-throated loon), aqiggiq (willow and rock ptarmigan), or toolagak (raven), and you may start planning to visit Arctic Bay in Nunavut for your next vacation. Visit The House & other Arctic Blog here >>
- Woodsong is a lavish celebration of Michigan’s abundant natural treasures. Cindy Mead conveys her abiding reverence for the plants and animals all around her through luminous photographs and prose. Visit the Woodsong Blog here >>
- The blog of the Bird Ecology Study Group of the Nature Society (Singapore) is a revelation. Not only does the site serve up scintillating accounts of exotic Asian avian behavior, but it serves a model of inspired group blogging from which every birding club and Audubon chapter could learn. Visit the Bird Ecology Study Group Blog here >>
- If you’re unacquainted with the magic that can transpire when the right digital camera and spotting scope are used together, prepare to be astounded. Mike's Birding & Digiscoping Blog, the work of Wisconsin’s own Mike McDowell, features uncommon portraits of commonplace birds. Visit Mike's Birding & Digiscoping Blog here >>
- The Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage, Alaska, may be the most well-known avian rehabilitation facility on the web, thanks to the Bird TLC blog. Webmaster Dave Dorsey introduces readers to the recipients of Bird TLC’s compassionate services. Visit the Bird TLC Blog here >>
- I do my best to annotate the avian activity of New York City and its surrounding areas, but The City Birder does it better. Rob Jett’s expert knowledge of local flora, fauna, and geography, combined with his unstinting commitment to see every single species within a 200-mile radius, make his blog a blast any time of year. Visit The City Birder Blog here >>
- Some enthusiasts are more enthusiastic than others; few can match the ebullience of Sharon Stiteler, also known as the BirdChick. Sharon’s blog perfectly presents how to mix birding business with pleasure. Visit the BirdChick Blog here >>
- For a view through the eyes of a talented nature artist, visit Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding. Carel Brest van Kempen enjoys a rare insight into ecology along with a gift for sharing what he sees. Visit the Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding Blog here >>
- Whether he’s birding the Texas plains or Papua New Guinea, David Ringer approaches his subjects with a keen eye and an open heart. Search and Serendipity conveys that sense of wonder that makes for truly transcendent bird watching. Visit the Search and Serendipity Blog here >>
- Katie Fuller is in tune with the avian action in the United Kingdom. She maintains one blog devoted to her Big Year effort to see every British breeding bird, but her Bogbumper blog offers enchanting photographs of a variety of natural subjects. Visit the Bogbumper Blog here >>
- Pete McGregor lives in the Pohangina Valley of New Zealand and writes about, among other things, wildlife and the natural history of the area. PohanginaPete is pure visual and verbal poetry. Visit the PohanginaPete Blog here >>
- The Firefly Forest is a smorgasbord of sensational Southwestern flora and fauna. The proprietress, a gifted photographer and observer, may describe her site as a nature journal, but it certainly fits the bill as a top-notch bird blog. Visit the Firefly Forest Blog here >>
- The Mid-Atlantic is fertile ground for bird blogging. John Beetham of A DC Birding Blog admirably covers both our nation’s capital and topics of universal birding interest. Visit A DC Birding Blog here >>
- Lillian and Don Stokes are best-selling birding authors and authorities. Fans of America’s First Family of birding will love the daily accounts of their travels, accompanied by Lillian’s exquisite photos, on the Stokes Birding Blog. Visit the Stokes Birding Blog here >>
- Living the Scientific Life is the work of a bird-loving molecular evolutionary biologist. The author covers, as one might expect, the bird science beat, but she also puts together the popular weekly roundup of “Birds in the News.” Visit the Living the Scientific Life Blog here >>
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